


Monsters and Humans and Witches, Oh My!

by ocarinaMegara



Category: Undertale, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Frisk Uses Sign Language, Frisk is Gender Neutral, Grillby uses sign language, Humans, M/M, Magic, Monsters, Original Characters - Freeform, Selectively Mute Frisk, Selectively Mute Grillby, Slow Burn, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Swearing, Witches, and tbh neither can i, baby's first AO3 fanfic, critique welcome, ill get better as I go, lots of lgbt representation here folks, or at least I'm gonna attempt slow burn, sorry if you hate swearing nephrite can't help herself, undertale - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2020-03-16
Packaged: 2020-04-24 13:33:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19174312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ocarinaMegara/pseuds/ocarinaMegara
Summary: "When October nights cool and the veil begins to wear, autumntime magic whispers her luring call and witches abound."Set approximately 1 year post monster-surfacing.In this universe, October is a sacred month for witches, and throughout the month they celebrate by putting on performances of magic.Shenanigans ensue!Check out ocarinamegarawrites on Tumblr for drabbles/worldbuilding, and ocarinamegaradraws on Instagram for art and character designs! :D





	1. October

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and welcome to my first internet-posted fanfic! Intro is kinda slow, mostly character introduction of my three main ladies. The fire husband as well as some other monsters will be introduced next chapter. :)  
> Keep an eye out for references, this story will be chock full of references to other nerdy things I enjoy.

Twilight came and brought with it the chill of pre-winter winds. Both humans and monsters alike would bundle themselves up with scarves and mittens before venturing out into the autumn night, their hopeful, sparkling eyes turned upwards to the clear and starry night skies.

Nearly bright as starlight themselves, three figures flitted from street light to street light; arms stretched upwards to the full moon, dancing on the sidewalk, whispers and giggles carried away on the biting breeze. The soft ringing of bells accentuated each twirl and spin of their shadows, snowflakes gracefully following in only their footsteps, small sparks of fire illuminating their black cloaks and pointed hats.

With each building they passed the giggling grew ever louder, singsong phrases gasped out between bouts of laughter, and even the stars seemed to twinkle more brightly in delight. Several streets down, more figures could be seen glowing gently in the starlight, their sweet laughter echoing through the streets to mingle in a magical tune. Shopkeeps paused their closing routines, babies cooed, lovers sighed; all townsfolk closed their eyes to feel the gentle magic lazily waltz down the winding avenues, a sense of peace settling over the town like a blanket of feathers.

When October nights cool and the veil begins to wear, autumntime magic whispers her luring call and witches abound.

 

*~*~*

 

Soft, pale sunlight filtered through the window, bathing the bedroom in morning's greeting. The warm rays shone through the dust to fall upon a bed; mattress slightly askew, blankets wound into a nest.

A small black cat popped its head out of the blanket bundle, squinting at the light source in a disgruntled fashion—the way cats do. It yawned, squeaking, and stretched its front paws out, lazily kneading at the sunlight, before standing up to arch its spine. The cat turned back around and nuzzled its head into the blanket nest, chirruping and wiggling, awake now and eager for breakfast.

With a sleepy groan, the blankets shifted and a young woman sat up, her short, curly hair fluffed and flattened into an impressive display of bedhead. She yawned and stretched, much like her cat; easing her sore muscles into some semblance of flexibility. She smiled sleepily at the fuzzball, scritching its little head to draw out a tiny rumbling purr.

“Morning, Luna.” The girl’s smile widened as the cat, Luna, mewed in response.

In a split second, the girl’s eyes widened and she shot out of bed, gleefully flinging the covers off to dart out of her bedroom, cat hot on her heels, to skid down the hallway and thud into another door, the sound of bells jingling down the hall after her. Without even the barest semblance of a knock, she threw the door open and pounced onto the mattress, causing the whole thing to shake against the wall and shock awake her housemates (who had previously been sleeping quite soundly, distinctly snore-like sounds emanating from one of them).

“Wake up! Guys, it’s October!!!” She flipped the covers off the bed, revealing two other young women. “It’s time to CELEBRATE!”

“Yeah, we gathered,” mumbled one of the other girls. She sat up, groaning and cracking her neck from side to side. “It’s not like we were up all night dancing around the streets and singing till our throats went out, or anything.”

She blearily glared at the curly-haired girl, feigning anger until the hum of her housemate’s enthusiasm was too much to take. Her glare melted into a smile, which grew into a grin, and she too felt the buzz of delight take hold in her bones.

“Seriously though, Ness, didja have to wake us up this early?”

Nessie’s eyes crinkled in delight. “No rest for the wicked, Nephrite~” She winked, mirth bubbling up in her throat. “Besides, it’s already almost noon.”

The third girl grabbed a pillow and chucked it at Nessie’s head before attempting to burrow back under the blankets, grumbling something about being nocturnal.

“Good morning to you too sweetheart,” Nephrite leaned over to kiss the top of her head. “But don’t give me that bullshit about being nocturnal,” she grinned evilly, “not when you’re the one constantly waking me up early to—”

Nephrite’s partner shot up and pressed her lips to her girlfriend’s mouth, effectively silencing her. After a pause, she pulled back and mumbled, “Hush, you—some things are meant to be private.”

Nessie giggled. “I’ve known you two for years, I know basically everything you do. Plus the walls here are _seriously_ paper thin—” she narrowly dodged another flying pillow. Okay, maybe some cajoling was in order.

“C’mon Nay, I’ll make us pancakes. Pumpkin pancakes to celebrate the first morning of Witches’ Month!” She fist pumped at the ceiling, the sound of jubilant windchimes filling the room.

Nayru cocked her head, contemplating the offer. With a lazy smile she nodded, pulling herself upright, long silver hair cascading down her shoulders, the morning light illuminating it in a soft halo. She looked angelic. Nessie was always so jealous of Nayru’s hair; no matter the situation, the sparkling strands always managed to lay perfectly atop her head. She self consciously peeked into the mirror next to her housemates’ bed, running her fingers through her own mussed pixie cut. Oh well, gotta work with what you’ve got. Nessie leaned forward to kiss the girls on their foreheads before clambering off the bed, humming to the tune of the jingling that floated around her, Luna weaving between her feet as she made her way to the kitchen.

Preparing breakfast was uneventful, and as the smell of freshly cooked pancakes wafted down the hall Nessie could hear Nephrite’s and Nayru’s murmured conversation perk up, and footsteps followed soon after. Nephrite popped into the kitchen first, immediately headed for the coffee machine, and Nayru followed after, dragging her bare feet across the wooden floors before plopping into a chair, slumping onto the table. Nephrite carried two mugs of coffee over, tasting one herself and setting the other in front of Nayru.

“I left it lukewarm for you babe, feel free to chill it if you prefer,” Nephrite snapped her fingers and a little flame danced above her index finger as she held it beneath her mug, effectively warming the coffee. “Or I’ll _heat_ things up for you,” she winked saucily.

Nayru groaned at the wordplay, lifting her head enough to glance balefully at her girlfriend before sliding her own cup of coffee closer, tapping her finger on the lip of the mug to create an intricate pattern of frost before it melted into the cup. Nessie sighed and walked over with a stack of pancakes in one hand and maple syrup in the other.

“You know,” she mused, feigning thoughtfulness, “we do have a microwave to warm things up,” a pointed look at Nephrite, “and an ice maker to make ice cubes.” A matching look to Nayru. “Isn’t modern technology just wonderful?”

Nephrite snorted, sipping on her hot coffee. “Technology schmechnology, it’s faster if we do it ourselves,” she smirked at Nessie. “You’re just jealous because music can’t brew your coffee the way you like it.”

Nessie wrinkled her nose, sticking her tongue out, a distinct wahp- _wahp_ background sound falling flat, then she giggled and conceded. “You’re right, heat mine up for me?” Nephrite obliged happily, more dancing flames circling Nessie’s mug, steaming it to just the right temperature.

The girls shared breakfast in relative silence, checking through their social media accounts and reading the news. Only the soft munching of Luna eating dry food under the kitchen counter and the occasional scrape of a fork on a plate disturbed the peaceful air. After they finished their food, Nessie scooped up the dishes and stacked up the plates on the counter next to the sink. Nessie and Nephrite made quick eye contact with each other and nodded before they tapped their noses and spun on Nayru, both shouting “not it!” only to find that Nayru already had her finger on her nose, sipping on her iced coffee and scrolling through Instagram. Nephrite groaned and shuffled over to the sink, pulling on rubber gloves.

“I hate doing the dishes,” she moaned, hoping to garner some sympathy from her housemates.

Nayru blinked at her over her mug, lips pulling up into a smirk as she took another sip. “I washed them yesterday and Nessie prepared breakfast,” she finished her coffee and stood up gracefully, padding barefoot over to Nephrite to set her mug on top of the stack of dishes. “And you both know you can never get me with that trick,” she placed a soft kiss against her girlfriend’s ear, causing a blush to rise over Nephrite’s face, now almost as red as her hair.

“Besides, I’ll make it up to you.” Nayru winked, tossing some very-well-practiced bedroom eyes at her lover as she walked back to her seat at the table, pulling her phone back out and typing away.

Nessie giggled and tapped Nayru’s shoulder—both girls trying and failing to ignore the sounds of passionately inspired dishwashing coming from Nephrite—then sat down next to her.

“So the event for today, is there a set time to show up? Same corner as last year?” Hopeful chimes tinkled in the background.

“Mm,” Nayru scrolled up through some texts, scanning for something. “Same corner, yeah, but Kat hasn’t sent over a time yet. Since the monsters emerged in late November last year, they missed last year’s festivities and Kat’s been running herself ragged with volunteer applications and ‘informational pamphlets.’” the two girls suppressed some giggles.

Nayru paused, then continued, “Even though she’s a bit of a spaz, Kat really does have her hands full this year. Apparently monsters have been volunteering in droves, eager to see displays of human magic. A handful of them have even offered venues of their own for performances.”

Before Nessie could ask any more questions, the kitchen cabinets slammed shut with a triumphant “DONE!” and Nephrite zipped over to Nayru, covering her girlfriend’s face in affectionate kisses. Nayru laughed brightly and pressed her index finger to Nephrite’s lips, kissing the back of it before looking lovingly at her partner.

“Neph, darling, what did we say about coffee breath? Your magic makes it taste like burnt coffee beans.” Nephrite grumbled, pressing one more kiss to Nayru’s forehead as she slouched away to brush her teeth. As she walked away, Nayru’s eyes gleamed and she slapped Nephrite’s ass, knocking her forward a few steps while Nessie wolf-whistled. Nephrite yelped in surprise, spinning around to face the perpetrator, whose face was positively glowing up into laughter. The three girls dissolved into giggles, now, finally, fully awake.

Seconds later, Nayru’s phone went off with a ping. She picked it up and opened the text, nose crinkling in irritation. “Stars above, Kat, thanks for the heads up,”

Nessie leaned in, her concern filling the air with tentative ringing. “What’s up? What happened?”

Nayru pinched the bridge of her nose, and with a disgruntled sigh said, “Our performance is scheduled for 1pm today…” her voice trailing off.

Startled, Nessie looked at Nayru, eyes darting between the clock on the wall and the texts on Nayru’s phone. After a pregnant pause, she all but shrieked as she ran down the hall.

“IT’S ALREADY FIFTEEN ’TIL!”

A crash came from down the hall, quickly followed by muffled expletives and the sound of off-key violin screeching. Nayru and Nephrite shared a look, amused.

“HOLY FUCKING STARS THERE’S NO TIME FOR MAKEUP JUST GRAB YOUR COSTUMES! IF WE RUN WE’LL JUST BARELY MAKE IT ON TIME!”

Nayru laughed, her shoulders quivering, and she wiped a tear from her eye. She looked fondly down the hall before walking to stand next to Nephrite, leaning her head on her partner’s shoulder.

“It’s so good to see her so full of energy,” she said, a hint of melancholy tracing her words. “After last year, I was worried she’d finally lost hope. I mean, she’s been waiting for so long and I just…” she bit her lip. “I just want to see her happy. Truly happy, you know?”

Nephrite kissed the top of Nayru’s head, wrapping her arm around her girlfriend’s shoulders.

“Me too, Nay, me too.”

More screeching sounded from Nessie’s room, pulling Nephrite and Nayru out of their melancholic reverie. They shared another look and dissolved into laughter, walking down the hall to grab their own costumes.

Yeah, it was definitely October.

 

END CHAPTER ONE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everybody who has taken an interest in the story so far!  
> The cat in this chapter is named for Luna from Sailor Moon, and even though she commandeered Nessie’s bed, the cat actually belongs to Nayru. :)  
> And yes, Nayru is named after the goddess of wisdom from Legend of Zelda, but that’s a plot point and we’ll get to it eventually :)


	2. Are You Going to Scarborough Faire?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monsters are introduced! Songs are sung! See the end notes for links to youtube videos that have the exact songs I listened to while writing up this chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is written in Grillby's POV :)

sans:  
-hey

-hey

-hey

-grillbz  
-i know you’re in there  
-i’ve got a _bone_ to pick with ya

-buddy  
-pal  
-good ‘ol grillby

-please let me in  
-or actually  
-just come to the door

Flameo Hotman:  
-Sans, we’re not open.

sans:  
-i knew you couldn’t ignore me for long  
-m’not trying to get in early  
-for once, heh  
-come to the door  
-there’s something going on down the street

-grillby  
-c’mon man throw me a _bone_ here  
-i’m being serious

Flameo Hotman:  
-I do not believe you have ever been serious for even a moment since your birth.

sans:  
-ouch  
-you wound me  
-c’mon you know you’re interested  
\- ~eyebrow wiggle~

Flameo Hotman:  
-You are a skeleton. You do not have eyebrows.

With a sigh, the bartender pocketed his cellphone and looked up from the table he had been attempting to clean. The bar’s windows were all shuttered and dark, save the small glass pane on the door. Behind said door, a very familiar monster was pressing his face to the opening, making exaggerated faces through the window. How a monster without flesh could smush its face onto a hard surface, Grillby did not know. He wasn’t sure he wanted to, either. Shifting his weight, he put one hand on his hip and shook his head at the door, unamused by the skeleton’s antics. Another quiet ‘ping!’ rang out from his pocket.

sans:  
-for your favorite skeleton?  
-it looks like  
-idk  
-a performance?  
-there’s a big crowd just down the block

Flameo Hotman:  
-Bold of you to assume that the position of “favorite skeleton” has been filled by you.

sans:  
-this is the best day of my life  
-you made an internet reference  
-i knew getting you a smartphone was a good idea

Flameo Hotman:  
-If accompanying you down the block will suffice in sating your curiosity enough to allow me to return to work, I will do so.  
-I will be out shortly.

Grillby glanced up from his phone to see Sans grinning widely through the door’s window, giving two thumbs-up before vanishing from the window. Grillby knew Sans was too short to see in through that window without some other type of assistance, whether it be magical or… as simple as a box. Hopefully today it was a box; Sans had broken many a window in his youth during his training to control his gravity and teleportation magic. Fortunately, that was in the pre-Sans’-eternal-tab era, and Gaster was always there to…

Grillby paused.

No, those were not memories he was ready to relive. Not now. He would unpack that box another day.

With a sigh, and a shake of his head to clear his mind, Grillby donned his fall coat and approached the door to the bar. Outside, Sans was waiting for him, wearing his usual grin and thick blue jacket. Sans winked lazily at Grillby, grin growing slightly wider.

“heya.”

Grillby’s fire crackled and he made an expression that couldn’t be translated to anything other than “can we get this over with?”

“heh, no need to give me the _cold_ shoulder there, pal,” Sans laced his phalanges behind his skull and began to leisurely stroll down the sidewalk towards what indeed sounded to be a performance of some kind. “take a chance to unwind, we really haven’t seen much of this place since the barrier broke last year.”

Grillby nodded, brooding—what Sans said was true, many of the monsters had been so busy trying to reestablish their lives and businesses that they neglected to properly integrate with their new human neighbors. Fortunately, the closest city to where the monsters had surfaced—at the base of Mt. Ebbott—was what they were told was called a “witch town,” where the majority of the population consisted of magic-users and progressive thinkers. There had been very few incidents with the humans here, and even most of those had been simple miscommunications that were easily cleared up.

Still, after being on the front lines of the War all those years ago, Grillby was understandably hesitant to immerse himself into human society once more. It was only through the constant urging of his skeleton friend—and the huge effort of the monster King and Queen to rekindle healthy relations with their human neighbors—that Grillby started to relax around humans again, even becoming somewhat familiar with the human regulars that visited his bar.

As the two rounded the corner of the sidewalk, Grillby grabbed Sans’ shoulder so as to keep him from walking right into a group of humans and monsters. Sans really wasn’t kidding—this corner was packed! Humans and monsters alike mingled in the crowd, a chatter of conversation and laughter carrying out over the wind. Grillby looked around for a reason for the crowd—an attraction? street musicians?—and saw at group of costumed folk at the back of the crowd.

“heh, it wasn’t this busy ten minutes ago, must be something special to draw this kinda crowd. papyrus and frisk are on the other side, let’s take a shortcut.”

Before Grillby could protest, Sans grabbed his hand, and with a dizzying sensation and a quiet _pop!_ , the skeleton and the flame elemental found themselves next to another, very tall, skeleton and a small human with short, brown hair. The human smiled widely and began gesturing with their hands, visibly excited for whatever was happening. Grillby patted their head gently and signed back.

_Not so fast, Frisk, I can’t quite keep up with you. Sign that again for me?_

_Sorry, Fire Uncle!_ The child shrugged their shoulders and giggled. _It’s really exciting, Mom said that all of October there are gonna be street performances and music and stuff and since today is the first day everything is so new and different and I want to see it all and and and—_

Grillby sighed as Frisk, obviously lost in excitement, lost their train of thought and tried to peer through the crowd, but they were too short to see much. They tapped the taller skeleton’s arm, and as he bent down to grab them, he caught sight of Sans and Grillby.

“GRILLBY! BROTHER! HOW DID YOU TWO MANAGE TO GET HERE SO QUICKLY?”

“hey paps. we took a shortcut.” sans reached over to ruffle Frisk’s hair, eliciting another giggle from the child. “‘sup, kiddo?”

_Dunkle Sans! Do you know when they’re gonna start?_

Just as Frisk finished signing their question to the shorter skeleton, a clear voice rang out over the crowd, drawing everyone’s attention.

“Greetings to all! Thank you for your patience, we are now ready to begin with the festivities!”

Grillby looked out over the crowd, searching for the source of the voice, and Papyrus hoisted Frisk up onto his shoulders so they could see better. A woman with long, green hair and an intricate green mask was standing on top of a makeshift platform and gesturing out to the crowd. Her voice carried astonishingly well, Grillby didn’t doubt for a second that it was enhanced with some kind of magic.

“To all of the monsters here: welcome to Hildwell, traditional home of the witches and Town of New Beginnings!”

The group of costumed people behind her began to cheer and clap, their enthusiasm spilling out over into the crowd of humans and monsters, excited whispers and murmurs blending into a soft hum of anticipation.

“I won’t bore you all with a history lesson, but let me say on behalf of all the witches present that we are ecstatic to be reunited with our brothers and sisters of monsterkind once again!”

More applause. A witch with an acoustic guitar slung over their shoulder put their fingers to their mouth and whistled loudly, punching their other hand into the air in a fist, their short, fiery red hair ruffling in the light breeze. A second witch grabbed a pointed black hat and squashed it down on the guitar-witch’s head, looking around as if to see anybody saw the first witch without their hat. They then smacked the witch on the back of their head, a short bark of laughter startled out from the (now covered) redhead.

“To kick off the month, we’re going to start with a traditional witch song performed by our town’s very own musical trio! Hope you're ready for some performance magic!” The green haired woman gestured to the guitar-holding witch, and two other costumed witches standing aside her. One seemed to tremble slightly as the gaze of the crowd focused toward them. Cheers and applause broke out from both the group of performers and the crowd of spectators, and the three witches stepped forward, climbing up onto the makeshift platform alongside the announcer. The green-haired woman leaned in and seemed to whisper something to the trio, and a soft green glow settled around their feet, twisting and swirling as softly as a bank of fog. Satisfied, the announcer hopped off the platform and joined the group of costumed folk.

A hush blanketed the crowd as one of the witches pulled a silver flute out of her sleeve. Turning to the witch with the guitar, they both nodded silently and began to play. The green-haired woman must have enchanted the trio with projection magic, as the sound of the instruments carried perfectly over the crowd--not a single note too quiet to hear. The only witch of the three not holding an instrument took half of a shaky step forward, then straightened their head and began to sing.

“Are you going to Scarborough Fair?”

Though her limbs trembled, her voice carried clearly, strongly--each note rang out, pure and sweet and spilling over with heartfelt magical intent. Grillby focused his attention on her; there was something so familiar about this tune, about this voice...

"Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme  
Remember me to one who lives there  
She once was a true love of mine..."

In perfect harmony with the lyrics, the accompanying witches' flute and guitar blended their music, weaving in and around the words. The haunting melody seemed to reach inside the listeners, cradling their very souls with the intangible embrace of song. Grillby felt a soft hum begin vibrate inside his chest, and judging by the spellbound expressions on the humans and monsters next to him, he wasn't the only one feeling the magical thrum. But… why did she sound so familiar? A brief memory of rain flashed in the back of his mind, but before he could focus his thoughts, he was swept away by the song.

"Tell her to make me a cambric shirt  
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme  
Without no seams, nor needlework  
Then she'll be a true love of mine…”

The music began to transform and grow, and the witch playing the flute poured her heart out into a soul-wrenching solo. Grillby's breath caught in his throat as the magical thrum grew stronger, more passionate, and as he felt himself drawn into the cycle of music he noticed that the remaining costumed witches were funneling a sparkling, glowing essence towards the three performers. The lead singer gathered her hands to her chest, and with a crashing wave of music she threw her hands to the sky and released a golden nebula of magic, the air swelling with all the power of an orchestra. Transfixed, neither Grillby nor any other spectator wondered where all the new instrumentation was coming from, even though the only visible instruments were the flute and the guitar.

"Tell her to find me an acre of land  
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme  
Between the salt water and the sea strand  
Then she'll be a true love of mine…"

Softly, sweetly, the music slowed; the background magic died out one musical voice at a time until all that was left was the flute, the guitar, and the vocalist.

“Are you going to Scarborough Fair?  
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme  
Remember me to one who lives there  
She once was a true love of mine.”

As the last note hung in the air, nobody even dared to breathe. Then, a heartbeat later, the spell was broken. The audience erupted into cheers and applause, more than a few moved to tears. Grillby felt the thrum of music in his soul slowly fade away, and he noticed that as the group witches ceased funneling that strange essence towards the performers, the singer’s shoulders slumped and she staggered a bit, the witch with the flute steadying her friend. They leant in towards her and appeared to whisper something, and the vocalist tiredly nodded her head. The three musicians climbed down off the platform—the guitarist taking a quick bow on their way down—and made their way back into the larger group of performers. The green-haired announcer hopped up onto her stand and addressed the crowd once again.

“A huge thank you to the wonderful musicians! Those ladies really know how to make music, don’t they?” The audience murmured their agreement, a few sniffles escaping those who had been especially moved by the song. “Now that you’re all hooked, how about time for something a little more… _funky?_ ”

With a grin, the announcer turned around, green hair flung out behind her, and pointed finger guns at the group of witches.

“ _Hit it, boys!_ "

The performers surged forward, taking up places in what must have been a choreographed move, and turned their backs to the audience. A handful of witches—including the three musicians from the prior performance—were now dressed with instruments befitting a rock band, and a witch holding a bass guitar let out a “ _whoop!_ ” and drove the band into a song with a catchy bassline. The announcer began to clap on the second and fourth beats, inspiring much of the audience to participate as well. The witch with the guitar jumped in, jivin’ on the upbeats, obviously right at home with this genre, and the singer from before—evidently filled with renewed energy—gave a thumbs up to the dancers and began to sing.

“This hit, that ice cold  
Michelle Pfeiffer, that white gold  
This one for them hood girls  
Them good girls, straight masterpieces…”

The dancers threw themselves into the song, eager to perform to their own skills, and the crowd was once again swept away by the magic of the performing witches.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I used this Celtic Woman version of Scarborough Fair:  
> https://youtu.be/ADtoRm5ELZw  
> Also, in this scene Nephrite is playing guitar instead of harp because I think guitar suits her better. :)
> 
> The choreography for Uptown Funk:  
> https://youtu.be/TwhHu8Rsz40
> 
> Grillby’s contact in sans’ phone, “Flameo Hotman,” is a direct reference to Avatar: the Last Airbender, because I firmly believe that Alphys would have gotten her hands on a copy of that show along with all the anime that fell into the underground.
> 
> Thanks for reading!! Drop a comment with critique if you have any advice for how I can improve or if there are any characters you’d like to see. :)


	3. Oh no...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our leading ladies visit a very cozy bar and meet some familiar faces!

Nightfall crept in and wrapped Hildwell in her gentle embrace; the moon peeking out from behind Mt. Ebbott and the stars twinkling cheerily, filling the void of space with celestial magic. On the ground, mirroring the stars, nearly every street lamp and window shone its own tiny light for the passerby. The smell of street food wafted down the roads, inevitably accompanied by the contagious laughter of witches and their faire-found friends. Music rang out from the streets haphazardly, small bonfires burned brightly in sectioned-off streets, and for the first time in a long year of social integration, many of the monsters from the underground began to feel that this really was their new home—a place they truly belonged.

Nessie lifted her head to the night sky; captured within her eyes a sparkle of hope and happiness that reflected back the heart of the starlight. A breeze tickled her nose and ruffled her short curls, eliciting a surprised squeak as she gripped her hat cautiously. Nephrite cackled and threw an arm around Nessie's shoulders—the other arm being occupied by Nayru—and the three girls strode down the street merrily, their eyes glowing gently with the magic of the night.

"Damn, Ness, you really outdid yourself today! Ya feeling better?" Nephrite bumped her hip into Nessie's, smiling playfully. Nessie laughed and stumbled slightly—bumping back into Nephrite—and turned her eyes down to the sidewalk thoughtfully.

"Mm, I don't feel quite as drained as I did before, but I think I still used up too much of my own stock of energy and relied too heavily on the magic from everyone else." Nessie sighed, kicking at a pebble on the ground. "I probably need to eat something. You guys wanna grab a bite? My treat~"

“Free food? Yes.” Nayru’s eyes gleamed with an intense passion and she picked up her pace. “In fact, there is a new restaurant in this district that I’ve been meaning to try, it’s monster-owned and operated so it would be wonderful to give them our patronage during this busy season,”

“Oh?” Nephrite teased. “Well, what’s this place called?”

Nayru stopped suddenly, and turned to face the building they had just passed in front of, a smile dancing on her lips. The bright orange, neon sign flickered warmly at the trio, the letters spelling out:

 

“Grillby’s.”

 

“Pfft, convenient that it’s right here across from where we were performing earlier. Babe, exactly how long have you wanted to eat here?”

“...I saw the sign when we were performing,” Nayru admitted, a pretty blue blush delicately dusted across her cheeks. “I was curious, so I asked some of the spectators about it, and they had nothing but good things to say, soo...”

Nephrite snickered and kissed the top of her girlfriend’s head, striding towards the door.

“Well, lets give it a shot!”

“Or several~” Nessie chimed in, bells twinkling merrily.

“Oh no you don’t,” Nayru chided, “you make the _worst_  decisions when you’re drunk, and you know it!”

Nephrite pulled the door open and a wave of light and heat swept out, wrapping the girls up in its comforting arms. As they walked in, they noticed that the place was absolutely _packed_. Humans and monsters alike filled almost every table and booth, waitstaff bustling about and clearing away empty dishes to serve new ones in their place. Nayru scanned the room and spotted empty seats at the bar, and motioned for her friends to follow her as she deftly wove her way through the crowd. The three witches seated themselves at the bar; Nayru closest to the wall, Nephrite in the middle, and Nessie on the left of a shorter monster whose face she couldn’t see as they were engaged in conversation with another monster.

Nessie looked around for a menu, and during her search her eyes flicked over across the bar and she gasped, her hand coming up to cup her cheek in surprise. “Oh no!”

“Ness? What’s up?” Nephrite craned her neck to follow her companion’s line of sight.

“...he’s hot.” Nessie whispered, the words falling from her lips unbidden.

Considering the object of Nessie’s attention was none other than a monster made entirely out of fire, yeah, he was hot. The monster to Nessie’s right choked on their drink, spitting over the bar what appeared to be a bloody mary. Thumping their chest and laughing through their coughing, they turned their attention to Nessie, who was now entirely pink in the face.

“pffft, that was a- _blaze_ -ing, kiddo, wasn’t expecting that from a newbie,” the monster appeared to be some kind of skeleton, their mouth turned up in a seemingly-permanent grin, “name’s sans, sans the skeleton. de- _light_ -ed to make your acquaintance,”sans extended his skeletal hand to Nessie, who grasped it politely and introduced herself in return. Wait, were those... fire puns? Before she could open her mouth to ask, Nessie was interrupted by a loud:

 

_fffffFFFRRTPPTPPPPtttrrrff_

 

“What the actual ass—” Nephrite jumped, swearing, and looked around for the source of the obscene sound. Sans raised his hands up, guilty as charged, and the girls saw something strapped to the inside of one of his palms.

“heh, the ‘ol whoopee cushion in the hand trick. gets ‘em every time.”

After a beat, Nessie snorted and descended into a fit of giggles.

“Oh, hah! Oh my gods, pfft, I haven’t seen one of those in _years_ ,” she managed to squeak out between gulps of air. “I guess this makes you a... _bone_ -afied comedian?” She laughed even harder at her own joke, tears twinkling in the corners of her eyes. Nephrite and Nayru groaned, slightly embarrassed by (and for) their friend.

Sans, on the other hand, was absolutely delighted, the white pinpricks of his pupils taking on a starry quality.

“heh, that was really _humerus_ , kid, _tibia_ -nest, i’m having an osteo _blast_ chattin’ with ya,” sans waved down the fire elemental on the other side of the bar, “this round’s on me, ladies.”

Before Nessie could protest and insist that she brought her friends here with the intention of treating them, Nayru’s eyes gleamed at the prospect of free drinks and she quickly took the skeleton up on his offer. A wave of warmth washed over the bargoers and Nessie glanced up to see the ~hot~ bartender standing in front of her, looking questioningly at Sans.

“put their orders on my tab tonight, grillbz,”

The skeleton winked at the elemental, whose flames crackled and popped with a sigh and he shook his head in exasperation, turning to the three girls. He tilted his head to one side, silently asking a question.

Naryu immediately ordered a magical mai-tai, noting how it was recommended by the monsters she spoke to at the performance, and Nephrite requested whichever beer was on tap, along with a large basket of fries to share. Grillby nodded and turned his attention to Nessie, whose voice had mysteriously disappeared into thin air.

“Oh, um, I’ll...” she stammered, frantically skimming the menu but unable to focus on the words, “I’ll, uh, take a margarita, if that’s okay?”

The flames on the bartender’s head flickered in acquiescence, and he strode off to prepare the drinks. Sans nudged Nessie, imitating an eyebrow wiggle as best he could with no eyebrows.

“getting a little _hot_ under your collar there, bud?”

Nessie blushed prettily at Sans’ cheeky comment and averted her eyes, fidgeting with a napkin on her lap. Nephrite, noticing Nessie’s bout of shyness, smoothly interjected herself into the conversation.

“So, Sans, was it? Didja have a chance to check out any of the first-day performances?”

“heh, yeah, i did actually. there was a neat musical group on the corner just a ways over, they put on a great show.”

Nessie’s shoulders slumped slightly with relief.

_Score! Good impressions on the first day!_

Nephrite brightened up, her amber eyes glowing with excitement. “No shit, man, thanks! That was the group we were performing with today!” she gestured to herself and the girls sitting on either side of her.

“woah, really? what a coincidence, bumpin’ into ya here, were you ladies with the musicians or the dancers?”

Nayru peeked her head out from behind her girlfriend,a teasing smirk playing on her lips.

“We wear masks during our performances for a reason, you know,” she stuck her tongue out playfully.

Sans chuckled nervously and attempted to backtrack, but Nayru beat him to it.

“Pff, just kidding! Sorry, I didn’t mean to stress you. We play as a musical trio, but Neph here does dancing too. Capoeira, mostly.”

Grillby walked back over to the witches and placed their respective drinks down in front of them. Nephrite tipped her glass towards him and smiled.

“Thanks, hot stuff.” Nephrite said casually as she took a swig of her beer. Grillby’s flames shot up and he walked away rather quickly, a touch of blue coloring his face. Sans snorted and nudged Nessie’s elbow.

“careful there, bud, looks like ya’ve got some competition for grillbz’ attention.”

Nephrite drained her beer and placed the glass back down on the counter, leaning forward to rest her elbow on the bartop and her chin in her palm, an eyebrow raised.

“Sorry to _break_ it to ya, _bonedaddy_ , but let’s get something _straight_ here... I’m not.”

With a wink, Nephrite shrugged her shoulders and snickered.

“I guess you could even say that I’m a _flaming_ lesbian!” For a split second, Nephrite’s own brick-red fauxhawk whooshed up in flames similar to Grillby’s, then she turned to Nayru and smooched her girlfriend square on the lips.

A few of the patrons that were close enough to overhear the conversation cheered and whistled at the display of affection, a few dog-like monsters a table or so away chiming in with some “ _w_ _oof!_ ”s. Sans roared with laughter, slapping a bony hand across his forehead.

“-snrk- heh, didn’t mean ta -snrk- _fire_ ya up there, _hothead_. yo, not gonna lie, that’s -snrk- pretty _lit_.”

Nayru broke the kiss with her girlfriend, giggling, and leaned over toward Sans.

“Oh I don’t know about that, I think she’s pretty _chill_.” Nayru wiggled her fingers, sending a few perfectly-formed snowflakes dancing over Nephrite’s head before they melted into her hair.

Sans glanced over to Nessie, evidently impressed by the witches’ casual display of magic and general punnery.

“yo, kid, your friends are really _cool_ ,” he winked.

“Heck yeah they are!” Nessie responded gleefully. “The redhead there is Nephrite, and the silver-haired lady is her girlfriend Nayru.” The witches exchanged greetings with the skeleton before he prompted Nessie with a question.

“do you do magic too? if that’s not rude ta ask, ya know,”

“Oh, yeah! I do,” Nessie laughed softly. “It’s just, not as flashy, if that’s what you’re expecting. I do what’s called ‘musical projection.’ Uhm... it means I can project the sound of most musical instruments.”

To demonstrate, she waved her index finger in the air and a sweet flute refrain twisted out over the bartop.

“It’s easiest for me to do bells, though,” she admitted bashfully. “Pure notes take less effort than something with vibrato or other kinds of adjustments to tone... and sometimes I can’t really control it, it just kinda... happens? Like, if I get spooked,” Nessie’s eyes darted over to the flaming bartender, who was cleaning out a glass at the other end of the bar. “...or embarrassed.”

Sans eyes softened and he patted Nessie on the shoulder.

“eh, flashy or not, it’s always nice ta meet humans who can do magic. seems like there are a lot of ya in this town, too.”

Flattered, Nessie smiled, a subtle jingling of chimes emphasizing her good mood.

“Well, it is a witch town after all! Hildwell is one of the oldest havens for magic users in the country, and it’s got a pretty rich history,” she took a sip of her margarita, licking salt off the rim of her glass. “especially with Mt. Ebott right there. Though the original intention behind its creation was _awful_ , the overflow from the Barrier allowed magic around here to flourish.”

Sans nodded solemnly, contemplating his own drink.

“i wonder what’ll happen t’all that magic now that the barrier’s broken...”

“Nothing bad, I’m sure!” Nessie’s face brightened. “Now that the monsters are all back living on the surface, I bet the equilibrium of the world will start to fix itself. We were undergoing some really drastic climate change up here, but ever since the barrier was broken it seems to be getting better again!”

As the curly-haired witch finished off her drink, Grillby walked over and gestured to her empty glass, seeming to ask her if she wanted a refill.

“Oh, hah, um no thank you,” Nessie said demurely. “...I make bad decisions when I’m drunk.” she yawned suddenly, covering her mouth as a squeak escaped her lips. “I think it might be about time for us to leave anyways, it’s getting pretty late.” she glanced over to Sans and then back to the bartender. “...is it really okay for us to put our stuff on his tab? I’m really more than happy to pay—”

Grillby raised a gloved hand, shaking his head. Through the swirling flames on his face, Nessie thought she could make out a small smile. She tapped Nephrite on the shoulder and motioned that it was time for them to leave, and then stood up from her barstool. It wasn’t until she was standing that she realized how _tall_ the bartender was. At 5’8” Nessie was on the taller side of average, but Grillby practically towered over her—he must have been at least 6’5”, maybe more. Her heart fluttered quickly, the sound of bells jingling out softly as she cleared her throat nervously. She proffered her hand to the bartender, smiling up at him, hoping he didn’t notice the pink on her cheeks.

“It was really lovely to meet you, thank you for having us!”

Grillby accepted her handshake and reciprocated her thanks with a dip of his head. Nessie turned to Sans, and very pointedly did not shake his hand again.

“It was really nice to meet you too, Sans, I hope we’ll see you around!”

“heh, yeah, same, kiddo. thanks for exchangin’ puns with me, i sure had a _bell_ of a good time.” he winked at Nessie, who laughed delightedly.

Standing up to join Nessie, Nephrite and Nayru repeated their friend’s thanks and the three girls started to walk off towards the door. Nessie opened the door and held it for her friends as they walked out, and then turned towards the bar one last time and gave a tiny wave to her newfound monster friends. As she exited the bar, venturing back out into the chill night air, she could’ve _sworn_ she heard a low, smoky voice respond:

“...Come again.”

 

END CHAPTER 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A whole year after initially starting this story, I’ve come back to update it! No promises on a consistent upload schedule, but recently I’ve been really inspired to continue this story. This chapter is kinda short so I might come back to it later and pad out the middle section with more descriptions of the bar, so keep an eye out! :)


	4. Anonymous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flashback time!

Sans turned to Grillby, a shit-eating grin spreading widely across his face. He nudged the flaming bartender across the countertop and made the motion of fluttering eyelashes, though he lacked any eyelashes to actually flutter.

“gee bud, inviting her back so soon? how forward of you, are those wedding _bells_ i hear?” sans raised a hand to the side of his skull as if to cup a non-existent ear. Grillby scoffed and shook his head, briskly resuming the motion of cleaning the countertop. Still feeling Sans’ eyes on him, he sighed and straightened his posture, one hand reaching up to rub the side of his neck.

“...The offer was directed towards all three,” he said softly, more comfortable with speaking now that the bar had started to empty out.

“c’mon grillbz, you’ve gotta admit, Ness—the one with the brown hair, if ya didn’t catch her name—you thought she was cute, didntcha?” Insert: emphatic eyebrow wiggling. “i saw the way you _lit_ up when she wasn’t looking.”

Grillby opened his mouth to protest again, but Sans waved it off.

“yeah, yeah, i get it, you’re still looking to find whoever the heck you met in waterfall, but buddy. pal. good ol’ grillbz, it’s been over a year. i mean, you’ve never even seen her face, maybe she’s just meant to be the one who got away, yeah?”

Sans was obviously trying to be lighthearted about the situation, but Grillby could sense the worry behind the skeleton’s words. After the catastrophe that ended his last relationship over twenty years ago, Grillby had completely distanced himself from any kind of romantic interactions, and it took many years for him to recover from the devastation. Sans, being the matchmaker that he was, had often attempted to coerce the bartender into meeting new people, but Grillby firmly declined each time. Until one day—when the bartender took a trip over to waterfall to purchase items from and catch up with his old friend and mentor, a crotchety shopkeep by the name of Gerson—something changed.

 

~~~

 

It was cold and damp. Ugh, the _damp_. Grillby sidestepped a puddle on the ground distastefully, keeping a firm grip on his umbrella. Even with a full waterproof trench coat, a hood, boots, gloves, and the umbrella, he could feel the moisture in the air attempt to seep into his flames, causing them to pop and snap. _Gerson is lucky I’m willing to make the trip through this blasted place_ , Grillby thought to himself as he narrowly avoided another, larger, puddle. _If that old timer were not as ancient as he is, I would insist he meet me in Snowdin where there is no. damned. rain!_ Grillby paused for a reprieve underneath an overhang that shielded him from the water and let out a frustrated sigh. Rain always put him in a cross mood.

Grillby glanced over across from his small shelter, and as his eyes alighted upon an old piano realized he had gone too far and missed Gerson’s shop in the misty rain. Swearing softly, Grillby raised his free hand to his face and pinched the bridge of his nose just beneath his glasses.

“...perfect. This is just _lovely_. _Exactly_ what I wanted to do today.” He walked over stiffly to the piano and sat on the bench, a soft hiss of steam rising from where water droplets came into contact with his warm body. Grillby leaned over to rest his forehead on the front of the piano, thankful that it was at least in an alcove protected from the water. He remained like that for a few minutes, seething with irritation, until he heard a soft noise echo through the cavern.

Grillby sat up abruptly, fervently hoping that nobody caught him behaving like a pouting child, and looked around for the source of the noise. After a pause, he heard the sound echo out again and he was able to identify it as some sort of voice; maybe it was Shyren practicing her singing again. Curious, Grillby stood up from the piano and looked around. Everything appeared normal, no Shyren in sight... and he started when he suddenly noticed that there was another cavern just beyond the edge of the wall. This wasn’t here before, the bartender mused to himself, and he approached the cavern, folding up his umbrella as he realized the cave was completely dry. The voice was clearer in here, though it was still slightly drowned out by the sounds of rain and running water, and there was still no other monster in sight. Confused, Grillby approached the back wall where a small, empty, pedestal of some sort was positioned, and he placed a hand up against the wall. It felt like a normal wall. Grillby cleared his throat softly, and tentatively spoke out:

“...Hello?”

The singing cut out and Grillby jerked his face away from the wall and fell smartly on his ass as an unholy screeching sound blasted out. Grillby thought he could make out a vocal shriek amongst the din. After what felt like an eternity, the screeching died out, echoing down the caverns past Grillby. A beat passed, then another. Grillby’s hammering SOUL slowly returned to its normal, gentle thrum. After minutes of silence, a soft, timid voice, still distorted by the flow of water, spoke out to him.

_“...is somebody there...?”_

Grillby stood up, brushing his pants off, and slowly approached the wall once more, inspecting it thoroughly, but unable to find any cracks or holes where somebody might be speaking through from the other side. He ran his hand over the cold stone, puzzled.

“My apologies, it wasn’t my intention to frighten you—” Grillby began, but his sentence was cut off by a strangled gasp coming from the other voice.

_“I—are you—oh my gods—are you_ -inside- _the mountain?”_ The voice asked incredulously. Beyond the wobble of the water, the voice was soft and attractively feminine, tinged with shock, and it took Grillby a moment to realize the implications of the statement.

He was—figuratively, this time—floored. _Inside_ the mountain? Then... then, this wall, this secret room, was _directly connected_ to the outside world? Grillby’s thought process screeched to a halt and he stammered unintelligibly, his emotions whirling amongst the extreme implications of this newfound information. Ever since the human child, Frisk, had fallen below and started befriending all the local monsters, the Underground had started to feel different, but if even the Barrier was beginning to weaken... Grillby’s SOUL sped up again. _Maybe there is hope for us to leave._

_“...hello...? Can you hear me...?”_

Shaken out of his reverie, Grillby addressed the wall once more.

“I... Yes, I can hear you.”

The mystery voice gasped and Grillby could make out a clattering sound as if something had been dropped.

_“Oh my stars... are you... are you a_ -fairy- _?”_

Grillby was caught off guard by the question. A... fairy? Fairies were a race of ancient, reclusive beings who very rarely interacted with the rest of the monster population. What kind of person was the owner of this voice to question the existence of fairies without so much as a second thought?

“...No, I am not a fairy.”

A small, disappointed _“oh”_ hung in the air for a few moments, followed by silence. Grillby cleared his throat and spoke again.

“You... you asked if I was “inside”. Are you... outside?” It was a bit of a dumb question, but he couldn’t help himself.

_“...yes, I’m behind a waterfall on Mt. Ebott...”_ Ah, that would explain why their voice was so distorted, the combination of the rain from Grillby’s side, the magical Barrier, and the waterfall on the outside drowned out most of the mystery voice, allowing only a mere warble-y refraction of the sound to enter the cave. This entire situation was unprecedented, and quite possibly dangerous; the elemental knew he should immediately report to King Asgore about this development, but something stayed his reaction. Softly, he asked:

“...was that you? Singing?”

_“...yes...”_ The voice sounded embarrassed, their affirmation taking on a slightly squeaky pitch. _“I... I come here to practice... I don’t usually meet people here...”_

The longer he listened to the voice, the more curious he became, and Grillby pushed away the nagging thoughts of contacting the king in favor of maintaining his conversation with this mysterious being.

“...It was lovely,” the man of fire admitted, rubbing his neck somewhat bashfully. “I didn’t intend to interrupt you, I can leave, if you would prefer to rehearse in peace...” His voice trailed off. No, he didn’t want to leave, but as a gentleman, he felt he was required to offer. Fortunately, he didn’t have to wait long for a response.

_“No! I mean... please don’t go. I’m sorry I screamed, you really spooked me.”_ The voice said quickly, the words flowing out from them in a rush. _“I had no idea there were any people living inside this mountain, I come here to practice because I get stage fright singing in front of people—I mean, like, a lot of people get stage fright, it’s not like it’s unheard of or anything, in fact I think most people worry about performing in front of others and—and, oh... oh heck I’m rambling...”_

Grillby couldn’t help the small chuckle that fell from his lips and he sat down on the dry cave floor, leaning his warm back up against the cold stone wall as he spoke.

“Please, you have nothing to apologize for. I am the one who frightened you, after all.” The flame elemental hesitated, wondering if he should continue his train of thought, and considered the implications of the question he wanted to ask. This person seemed fairly friendly, what was the worst thing that could happen? With the Barrier up, nobody could willingly find and enter the Underground, and... fuck it. He was just going to ask. “Are you... a human?”

The mysterious voice choked and for a split second Grillby wondered if he would regret his question.

_“Holy_ shit _, are you a monster??”_ The voice responded, their voice shaking with either fear or with joy. _“Oh my gods, oh my stars, holy_ fucking _shit this is amazing—”_ Ah, good then. It was joy. _“We didn’t know if you were all even still alive after what happened a thousand years ago, oh no I think I’m going to start crying...”_ Their voice dwindled a little bit, sniffles and hiccups interrupting their speech. _“Oh no, I’m so sorry... I’m so sorry for what they did to you, it was a trick, it was a cruel, evil trick—none of you deserved to be sealed underground, it wasn’t your fault, I’m so sorry—”_

Grillby, with the patience of a saint, waited for the voice to regain control of their tears. Sometimes he could scarcely believe that The War took place a thousand years ago; his memories of the terror remained as fresh as if the events had taken place merely yesterday.

_“I... oh gods above and below, please forgive me. You deserve an explanation.”_ The voice took in a shaky breath. _“I’m not a history major, so please forgive my lack of detail, but...”_

The person on the other side of the wall recounted the events of the war. They spoke of the truce that had once been honored by humans and monsters as they lived together in peace. They spoke of the human kingdom, stricken with grief, announcing an attack on the monsters following the assassination of their only prince. They spoke of the long, cruel, bloody war that followed, leaving nothing but broken bodies and dust in its wake. Grillby remembered it all vividly, and detached himself from his own memories in an effort to prevent the horror from taking over again.

_“...but as soon as the Barrier was placed, and the seven human magicians ended their spell, the residual magic was enough to call to the fallen prince’s SOUL from beyond the veil of death.”_ The voice quieted, pain lacing every word, and they took a steadying breath before continuing. _“...the prince’s SOUL said that he hadn’t been killed by a monster assassin, as everybody had been told, but he had instead been murdered in cold blood by the Head Magician, Altair, and the monsters had been framed. But it was too late... the Barrier was complete, and the magicians who cast the spell committed suicide, taking with them any possible hope for information on reversing the magic. Altair fled and was never found again. W-we’ve been trying for so l-long to contact you all, a-and we’ve never stopped h-hoping that maybe you’ve been okay down there, and... oh fuck, I need to tell the High Priestess that you’re alive—”_

Panic blossomed in Grillby’s chest and he shot to his feet, placing both of his palms against the wall desperately. “Wait! Wait, please. I do not doubt your story, but it may be too dangerous to involve more humans at this point in time.” With bated breath, he waited for a response. It was quiet for a long, pregnant pause.

_“...I understand. I... I’ll keep it secret. But, um...”_ the voice suddenly grew bashful and dropped into a murmur. _“...can_ I _still speak to you? As in... may I see you again? Or, I mean, I still haven’t seen you since there’s a freaking mountain in the way, but you know what I mean...”_

Grillby chuckled, his broad shoulders shaking slightly with the mirth.

“I would be happy to speak with you again.”

_“W-wonderful!! Wow, I can’t believe—this is amazing—oh fuck, wait is that really the time? Oh stars, oh no, I’m so sorry—I have to leave, I’ll be late for—”_ The voice slipped in and out of coherency and stress took over their speech. _“I’m really sorry, I have to go—I’ll come back again! I’m here every Wednesday afternoon, I’ll be back I promise!”_

And with that, the cave quieted. Grillby let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, and the shock of the situation hit him all at once. He had spoken to a _human_. _Through the Barrier_. That... that should be impossible. He really, really needed to tell the king.

 

Within a day, Grillby had informed King Asgore of the weak point in the Barrier. Asgore wasn’t exactly overjoyed to hear Grillby’s recount of the conversation—intent as he was on maintaining the safety of monsterkind in the face of a potential breach—so the flame elemental quietly decided to keep some aspects of the conversation to himself. However, when Asgore and the Royal Scientist, Alphys, accompanied Grillby to the spot where the mysterious cave had opened up, the wall was merely a wall once more. Alphys took measurement readings of the area with an odd electronic device, and she was able to conclude that there was indeed a disturbance in the magical integrity of the barrier there, but despite all their attempts to unlock the hidden room, the monsters were unable to gain access the space within. With more important things on their minds, like the human child that was currently adventuring unrestrained through the Underground, the matter of the secret room was quickly forgotten by everyone... except Grillby.

Every week going forward, Grillby would lock up his bar early on Wednesdays and travel to Waterfall, and the secret room was always there, open for him. He decided that it was in his best interest not to question it, and, in all honesty, he was rather pleased to be able to keep these moments to himself. He spoke with the voice frequently, exchanging comments on the weather, and the state of the world aboveground, and it soon became the highlight of his week to meet with this mysterious person. She had eventually introduced herself under a nickname, “Anon,” as she claimed it was bad luck to give personal names out when you couldn’t see who you were talking to, and Grillby in turn introduced himself as “G.”

One day, when Grillby closed up shop and left for Waterfall, he was followed. Sans, being the nosy skeleton he was, had followed the fire elemental into Waterfall and cornered him, demanding to know what all the secrecy was about. Grillby, metaphorically and literally trapped in a corner, confided the whole situation to his friend. By the end of the confession, Grillby realized that over the course of the last few months, he had grown exceptionally fond of his invisible friend Anon, and he swore Sans to secrecy. Sans, more than happy to see his fiery friend interested in another person again, faithfully kept his jaw shut... aside from the occasional teasing, and “anonymous” jokes, of course.

But, as fate would have it, those happy days simply couldn’t last.

As usual, Wednesday came around, and Grillby closed up his bar, clothed himself in his waterproof items, opened his umbrella, and made his way towards Waterfall to speak with Anon. On his way over, the flame elemental noticed that the rains were less heavy than they usually were, and the general water level seemed rather... low. When Grillby reached the secret room, delighted as always to see that it was open for him, he had hardly crossed the threshold before a horrendous, _evil_ feeling clawed its way into his chest, wrenching his SOUL clean out of his body, and he blacked out.

What seemed like an eternity later, Grillby came to his senses on the cold, stone floor in the cavern, no memory of the events that had transpired after his soul had been torn away from him. Dizzily, he sat up and clutched his head, a dull throbbing echoing in his mind. Wait. It wasn’t just in his mind. Grillby blearily turned towards the back wall where the altar stood, and he heard thumping on the wall as if somebody were trying to break through.

_“...G... G! Can you hear me?? Are you there??”_ A particularly loud thump was followed by a string of expletives, some filthy enough to make Grillby flush slightly at hearing them come from what was usually such a sweet voice. He slowly pulled himself to his feet, umbrella forgotten on the ground, and he staggered towards the back wall.

“Anon? What... what happened?”

_“Oh thank the gods you’re okay!”_ Her voice gasped out with relief and the banging on the wall stopped. _“I’m sorry, I can’t keep this up for much longer—”_ Grillby noticed that her voice was breaking up as she spoke to him, and he felt a dramatic shift in the magical auras in the room around him.

“Anon? What’s wrong? What’s going—”

_“There’s no time to explain! The Barrier fell, I can’t keep talking to you without the magic falloff—I’m not strong enough to keep this up on my own!”_ Anon’s voice rang out with desperation, her voice crackling in and out as if she were speaking through a faulty phone line.

The... the Barrier fell? What?!

_“You have to—find me! I can’t hold this—it’s too much, I’m sorry! My name—my real name is Nausicaä! Find me—on the surface!”_

Abruptly, unnaturally, the echoes of Nausicaä’s final words were cut off, and Grillby was left entirely alone in the silent cave. When did the rain stop? No, this couldn’t be right. He weakly hammered on the wall and called out Nausicaä’s name only to be met with deafening silence. After a few moments, Grillby gathered up his wits enough to begin the trek back to Snowdin, encountering many monsters in a similar, dizzy, state on his way back. Nobody had a clear answer for what had happened, but each one of them vividly recalled the sensation of having their SOULs torn away from their bodies.

In the time of confusion and crisis, Grillby took charge and reopened his bar as a haven for the monsters who had been particularly affected by the unprecedented events from earlier. For several hours, he simply focused on helping the injured, desperately trying to ignore the dull ache in his chest from the loss of his... friend. His friend. It wasn’t until Frisk, the human child, and now the Angel of Monsterkind, made their way back across the underground and explained the horrifying events that Grillby felt the knot of tension in his stomach loosen its grip.

Frisk explained to all the monsters who would listen that their SOULs had been stolen by another creature—who Frisk adamantly refused to name—and the creature, upon realizing its wrongdoings, used the power of all the monster SOULs (and the collected 6 human ones as well) to destroy the Barrier and release monsterkind. The news was received ecstatically by the majority of monsters, and they all rushed into a frenzy of preparation to move to the surface.

It was hard to believe it had already been almost a year.

 

~~~

 

“...grillbz? earth to grillby? flameo, my hotman?”

Grillby was snapped out of his reverie by the skeleton waving his bony hand around in front of the flame elemental’s face. Sans sighed and slumped back into his seat, shooting Grillby a pointed look.

“geez, bud, a little lost in your thoughts there, aren’tcha? it’s about time for ya to close,”

Startled, Grillby’s eyes flicked up to the clock hung on the wall and realized it was indeed time to start closing. Fortunately, it appeared that he and Sans were the only monsters left in the bar.

“...Ugh, apologies, Sans, it has been a long day.” Grillby shook his head, attempting to clear his melancholy thoughts, and quickly began his closing routine. Sans waited patiently until Grillby was done—he had earned the right to stay past closing many, many years ago—and held off on his burning question until the bartender took his apron off and sat down, stretching his shoulders after standing upright for so long.

“i’ll head off here, grillbz, but before i go...” Sans looked up at his friend, the typical careless airs he usually put up tossed aside for genuine concern, “...she seemed really nice. think about it, okay?” and with a _blip!_ the skeleton was gone.

Grillby headed up the stairs into his living space above the bar and finished his routine of getting ready for bed, Sans’ words echoing in his mind. The girl—Nessie, her name was Nessie—she did seem nice, but... a twist in Grillby’s stomach made him grimace. It almost felt like betrayal to think of her—or anybody—like _that_ when he _still_ hadn’t found Nausicaä, even after almost a year of searching for her. He didn’t even know what he would do if he found her, but... he just couldn’t give up on looking. Despite his whirling mind, the exhaustion set in and Grillby fell asleep almost as soon as his flaming head hit his pillow. That night, his dreams were filled with rain and waterfalls and caves... and the sound of bells.

 

END CHAPTER 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the hits and the kudos!! As always, feel free to drop a comment with critique or questions :)  
> The “find me on the surface” scene was inspired by Howl’s Moving Castle


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